Dutton

This week I’m going to read two books that I’ve had in my collection for years and one that I was approved for on Netgalley.

What are you reading this week?

Enchant- Micalea Smeltzer

Mara Pryce never imagined that her life was anything but normal and then a strange gray-eyed young man appears at her graduation. When he vanishes without a trace, she’s convinced he’s a figment of her imagination. Then he appears again and shatters her whole world.

Mara is an enchanter, part of an ancient line of Wiccan power, and a war is raging—one of good and evil—between the Enchanted and the Iniquitous.

The Iniquitous want her dead and it’s Theodore’s job as her protector to keep her safe.

When Mara and Theodore arrive at a safe house, where Mara will remain hidden while learning about her powers, they find that the real threat might be a little closer to home than they want to believe.

The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy- Rainn Wilson

Rainn Wilson’s memoir about growing up geeky and finally finding his place in comedy, faith, and life.
For nine seasons Rainn Wilson played Dwight Schrute, everyone’s favorite work nemesis and beet farmer. Viewers of The Office fell in love with the character and grew to love the actor who played him even more. Rainn founded a website and media company, SoulPancake, that eventually became a bestselling book of the same name. He also started a hilarious Twitter feed (sample tweet: “I’m not on Facebook” is the new “I don’t even own a TV”) that now has more than four million followers.

Now, he’s ready to tell his own story and explain how he came up with his incredibly unique sense of humor and perspective on life. He explains how he grew up “bone-numbingly nerdy before there was even a modicum of cool attached to the word.” The Bassoon King chronicles his journey from nerd to drama geek (“the highest rung on the vast, pimply ladder of high school losers”), his years of mild debauchery and struggles as a young actor in New York, his many adventures and insights about The Office, and finally, Wilson’s achievement of success and satisfaction, both in his career and spiritually, reconnecting with the artistic and creative values of the Bahá’í faith he grew up in.

The Chain- Adrian McKinty

You just dropped off your child at the bus stop. A panicked stranger calls your phone. Your child has been kidnapped, and the stranger explains that their child has also been kidnapped, by a completely different stranger. The only way to get your child back is to kidnap another child within 24 hours. Your child will be released only when the next victim’s parents kidnap yet another child, and most importantly, the stranger explains, if you don’t kidnap a child, or if the next parents don’t kidnap a child, your child will be murdered. You are now part of The Chain.

No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly, disturbingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story . . . until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.

Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew’s dark past and into the secrets kept within its walls. Her discovery that Ingrid is not the first apartment sitter to go missing at the Bartholomew pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent.

My Review:

“One look at what Ingrid wrote sends me plummeting in a deep well of worry. I read it again, staring at the two words Ingrid had scrawled in a shaky hand….. Be careful.”

Riley Sager’s books are always mysterious and spooky. They leave you feeling uneasy and terrified to be alone. This one is definitely no different but you will have severe trust issues. Just keep telling yourself that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Jules’ life has been going through a rough patch. She recently lost her job, found out that her boyfriend has been cheating on her, and has been living on her best friends sofa. Until she sees the ad of a lifetime.

The Bartholomew is one of the most prestigious buildings in New York and has quite the reputation. Rumors swirl around that place. Some good but most of it is terrifying. They are searching for an apartment sitter for three months and at the end of each week, you’ll receive one thousand dollars. This would get her off of her friend’s sofa and give her the life of luxury for a few months. She jumps at the chance but her friend has concerns.

Looking past those concerns, she applies and automatically gets the job following the interrogation from Ms. Evelyn. While living at the Bartholomew, she has to abide by three major rules: No visitors, You can’t spend the night away from the apartment, and you’re not allowed to bother any of the residents. If any of these rules are broken, you’re out.

She accepts the terms and moves in. Everyone keeps to themselves except the other apartment sitters. She becomes close to Ingrid, who lives underneath her and then Ingrid suddenly vanishes. After expressing her unease about the apartment, she fades into the night and Jules feels suspicious about how Ingrid left. Now she’s on the hunt for clues of the disappearance of Ingrid. There is just something about Ingrid that makes her think of her missing sister.

As Jules digs deeper into the history of The Bartholomew and its residents, she uncovers something she never thought could be possible. Now it’s a race against the clock to find Ingrid and save herself at the same time.

Riley Sager has done it again, he has delivered another horrifying masterpiece. This reminded me of Rosemary’s Baby, and The Shining but all while putting his unique twist on everything. With the way his books are going, he is bound to be one of the biggest mystery/horror writers of our time.

Lock Every Door will scare you and make you think twice before you accept any offer. This book will make you look under the bed and inside the closet before you go to bed but it was an amazing read. Riley never disappoints and I suggest this to everyone who loves a great mystery and horror novel.

Word of advice: If you ever see a dumbwaiter just leave it alone. Nothing good ever comes from them. They are spooky and will haunt you. Just, no.

This week I’m going to finish up a book that I started yesterday, an arc that I’ve had for over a year, and some arcs that I received from the publisher.

What are you reading this week?

Aurora Rising- Jay Kristoff & Amie Kaufman

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch:

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass tech-whiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger management issues
A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into her squad leader, in case you were wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.

Nobody panic.

Lock Every Door- Riley Sager

No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly, disturbingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story . . . until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.

Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew’s dark past and into the secrets kept within its walls. Her discovery that Ingrid is not the first apartment sitter to go missing at the Bartholomew pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely- Brigid Kemmerer

Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s pulled into a magical world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? As she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

The Science of Rick and Morty: The Unofficial Guide to Earth’s Stupidest Show- Matt Brady

Explore the real science behind the Cartoon Network phenomenon Rick and Morty—one of television’s most irreverent, whip-smart, and darkly hilarious shows—and discover how close we are to Rick’s many experiments becoming a reality.

Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty is one of the smartest (and most insane) shows on television. Genius alcoholic Rick Sanchez and his hapless grandson Morty have explored everything from particle physics to human augmentation and much more in their intergalactic adventures through the multiverse. With biting humor and plenty of nihilism, Rick and Morty employs cutting-edge scientific theories in every episode. But, outside of Rick’s garage laboratory, what are these theories truly about and what can they teach us about ourselves?

Blending biology, chemistry, and physics basics with accessible—and witty—prose, The Science of Rick and Morty equips you with the scientific foundation to thoroughly understand Rick’s experiments from the show, such as how we can use dark matter and energy, just what is intelligence hacking, and whether or not you can really control a cockroach’s nervous system with your tongue. Perfect for longtime and new fans of the show, this is the ultimate segue into discovering more about our complicated and fascinating universe.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This weeks topic is: Characters I’d Like To Switch Places With

Jude- The Wicked King by Holly Black

Donatella Dragna- Legendary by Stephanie Garber

Brynn Hilder- The Deceivers by Kristen Simmons

Scarlett Copeland- Only A Breath Apart by Katie McGarry

Noah Oakman- The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik by David Arnold